The New Ranger
by alphagroup12
Summary: U.S Army Rangers are feared in our world. But when two are thrown into Araluen they must prove their worth to two of the best Rangers. See how Rangers, old and new, have skills that each other need to overcome new problems in the kingdom. This story takes place after the Lost Stories. Rated T because I will get pretty descriptive.
1. The Arrival

Retreat! Retreat! The word hung in the air over the battlefield. Not many times in these soldiers' career had they ever retreated. But they knew they were outgunned and outnumbered. The man who gave the order was Captain James Roderick. He ushered men past him and kept shouting the order. One of the last men was struck and fell to the ground still alive. James threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and ran after his men. Bullets flew all around him as he ran. He kept running for his life and the life of his comrade. It was dark and he did not see the hole in the ground in his path. He fell down and dragged the man behind a rock. James readied himself to make a final stand against these men, but then suddenly a blinding light surrounded him.

Will and Alyss were taking a walk through the forests that surrounded Castle Redmont. They decided not to take their horses and enjoy a little exercise. They walked holding hands in silence just enjoying the scenery and each other's company. It was about the become dark and they were heading back to the castle. But then suddenly off to their right a blinding light appeared in the trees. It seemed about one hundred feet away thought Will. Out for a walk or not, Will still had his cloak and long bow which he now held in his hand. "What in the devil is that?" cried Alyss. But as suddenly as it appeared it was gone. "I am going to check it out, wait here." said Will "If I am not back in ten minutes go get Halt." Alyss nodded. Will ghosted through the trees not making a sound until he arrived at a small clearing were he guessed the light was. He stood behind a tree and peeked out from behind to observe. He saw two men, one crouched and one laying on his back. They were both dressed in a strange camouflage that would have been better suited for Ariddia. The one on the ground let out a groan of pain. He must be wounded, Will thought. The man that was crouched looked to be about twenty-three. Will noticed a strange metal object in the man's hand. He was curious, but decided to not take any risks. He slowly stepped clear of the tree and notched and drew his bow. "Kings Ranger! Stop were you are!"

Next thing James knew he was in a forest. He still had his M4 and his soldier was still beside him. "Where am I?" James said quietly. He scanned the trees for any threats but saw none. "Please help me." Groaned the man beside him. Strange land and now I have to take care of him thought James. Just then a man stepped clear of a tree with a longbow in his hands aimed right for him. James would have shot the man but luckily for Will his gun jammed. "Kings Ranger! Stop were you are!" shouted the man with the long strange cloak. "Who are you." said the man. "My name is Captain James Roderick of the United States Army 75th Ranger Battalion." Wills mind started racing when he heard his reply. They were the only Rangers around here and by Gorlog's beard they didn't dress like that Will thought. "What are you doing here?" "Well it is a very long story but my friend here is seriously injured and we need help. Can you lead me to the nearest doctor?" Will thought for a moment "Yes but give me your weapons first." James tossed his M4 and M9 handgun halfway to Will. He then picked up his comrade and put him back into the fireman's carry. Will picked up the two firearms and studied them intently. What in the devils name are these he asked himself. He whistled loudly and a minute or two later Alyss came through the trees. He motioned her over. "The one on his shoulder needs medical attention, we are going to help them. Takes these and hold on to them lead the way and I will take up the rear." said Will "Are you sure about this Will? We have no clue who they are or what they could do." said Alyss. Will thought for a moment and then answered "I have no clue but if we don't help that man." pointing to the wounded man over James's shoulder. "he will die." Alyss shook her head and started her way through the trees. Will pointed after her and said "Follow her, I'll take up the rear." James nodded and followed the woman. It took the group about twenty minutes to reach the edge of the forest right before the castle and the village. Whenever James came through the trees and he saw the castle and the village he said aloud. "We are not in Afghanistan anymore." He studied it all for a few moments before the heard the man's voice behind him. "Done gawking? Get moving." The group passed through the village on the way up to the castle. Everyone stopped and stared at the two men one wounded and the other carrying him. But after they passed they went back to work. There was always work to be done. They stopped at the drawbridge and Will walked up to Alyss and whispered "Give me his weapons." Alyss handed them to him and he continued "I am going to go find Halt, you take them to infirmary. They both are not to leave, we will talk to them." Alyss again nodded and said to James "Come I will take you to the infirmary." They walked into the castle and she led him through many corridors. James was absolutely amazed. Sure he had seen pictures of castles from his history books but being in one in the middle ages. Now that was another thing. They finally made it to infirmary were James laid down his comrade on one on the beds. "Who is this?" said the doctor. "It is not important" replied Alyss "Just please treat his wounds." The doctor recognized Alyss and nodded. "Well take off his clothes, I don't know how you would."

Will's mind was racing. He had James's guns and was walking to Halt's apartment in the castle that he shared with Pauline. He knocked on the door twice and hard. "Come in." replied Halt's gruff voice. Will entered and saw Halt on a chair fixing the fletching on one of his arrows. In Halt's apartment had two couches and a few chairs surrounding a central table. Will placed the guns on the table and sat in one of the chairs. Halt said nothing as he inspected the objects before him. He picked them up and looked at them from every angle. "What are they?" asked Halt. "I have no clue, I found two men in the forest when I was walking with Alyss. One was injured and the other had these two things on him. He held the bigger one like it was a weapon to him." Halt pondered Will's words for many moments. "Can we speak to this man, the one that is not wounded." asked Halt. "I don't see why not." Will answered shrugging. Halt picked up his cloak and donned it, along with his longbow and quiver. "Let's go." They walked through the castle heading towards the infirmary. Will noticed that whenever the situation was serious the usually form of friendly insults was gone. Whenever they reached the infirmary they entered.

**This is my first story so I would really appreciate if you guys review it! I have many more ideas for this but I want to know if there is interest.**


	2. New Weapons

The surgeon was able to remove all the bullets from James's buddy. James always carried a first aid kid when he went into battle. You never know when you may need it. He always said when questioned about it. James cleaned the wounds with iodine from the kit. "Medieval doctors? More like medieval butchers." said James to himself. James also looked at his name tape on his uniform and found out his real name. Sergeant Nobles, name tapes only gave last names and James didn't want to bother him for his first name. After the surgeon sealed up all the wounds he had a sleeping potion given to Nobles to have him rest. James's thought he was going to get some rest but Will and Halt had other plans.

James saw the door open and the man that led him here and another man identically dressed came into the infirmary. "Now what do you want?" said James softly. James now noticed that the companion to the one that found him was older. The younger one was also holding his M4 and M9. "You, stand up." said Halt in a gruff tone. James did as he was told and was motioned to follow him.

James was again taken through the castle and was led to a room with one window and the floors and walls were bare except for three plain pine chairs and a plain pine table. "Sit." said Halt again pointing to the only chair facing the window. The other two faced the one. James sat and knew what was going on. An interrogation and if he didn't answer the questions they would torture him for them. Thought James to himself.

"What is your name." said the gruff voice again. "My name is Captain James Roderick, 75th Ranger Battalion United States Army" replied James. "I told that to your younger friend there in the forest." The older man said nothing for awhile. But his dark eyes bored into James. James had seen some scary people in his time and he knew this was one of them. But he knew it was weakness to look away. So he met that gaze and held it as long as Halt did.

'What are these?" asked Halt putting James's guns on the table. James broke eye contact for a second to look at what he place but met them again when he answered. "My two weapons, my M4 A1 assault rifle and my Beretta M9 handgun." James said no more. "I have never seen weapons like this before, where are you from?" "A land that is unreachable." Halt raised an eyebrow at this answer. "How?" asked Halt. "Do you have two pieces of parchment?"

"Will, go fetch me some parchment." Will left the room in search for parchment. "What is your name?" said James to Halt. Halt liked the man so far. He was not afraid to hold his gaze. He was in a strange place being interrogated by strange men and he didn't seemed the least bit fazed. "My name is Halt." James nodded, you get them to tell you something simple at first James thought. Then they will start to tell you more. Will came back in with several sheets of parchment and a inkwell.

James nodded his thanks and took two sheets. He reached into his ACU camouflage and pulled out a pen. He took one sheet and drew a circle and wrote "Your world". "This is your world" pointing to the circle he just drew. On the other he drew another circle and wrote "Earth (My world)". "These are our two worlds, they are separate and cannot be reached. Think of it as two islands but between them is a wall. In my world we call these Dimensions. This Dimension or your Dimension are totally separated and one cannot cross over." Will was slowly catching on to the idea and his face showed it clearly but Halt's face didn't show one thing. "Ok, so how did you get here?" asked Halt.

"I'm glad you asked. There are things called worm holes. And no not the one that lives in the ground. These I believe rarely can open up between dimensions. They open a small bridge between dimensions. They can last for seconds or days. No one knows." Halt sat in silence for a few minutes before saying anything. "So I think I understand how you got here but I have on main question. Are you here to hurt us or help us?" It was James's turn to have a puzzled look on his face "Why would I hurt you?" "Well if you have the scientific capabilities to understand things like this." motioning to his crude drawings "Then your war capabilities must be something to fear."

"My countries war capabilities are beyond anything you can imagine. But I will not harm your people. I can however provide services to your king..." James paused for a second. "You do have a king right?" "Yes" answered Halt. I like this one thought James. He doesn't give out information that's not needed. He might make a decent Ranger. "Ok good. But I can provide services to your king that would be very helpful." Halt pondered his proposal. "Perhaps, but I would like to see your weaponry first." It was a few minutes before James answered him saying "I will need two full sets of armor and four shields. Battle quality is what I need." "Done" Halt said almost instantly.

It took about an hour to get all the armor James required he had stakes driven into the ground at 50, 100, and 200 meters. He placed a helmet a shield and a armor suit at the 50 mark. At the 100 he had two shields. And at 200 he matched the set up of the 50 meter mark. They set up this test by the Redmont battle school and every cadet from the school was watching. Even the Sir Rodney and Baron Arald were with the group to see this new weapon. James also requested a table where he set his two firearms.

James held up a single round and said "This is the 7.62 .308 NATO Round." Everyone around him looked unimpressed by it. James detached the actual bullet that is fired from the gun. "This projectile is fired from my firearm." referring to the rifle on the table. "At about eight-hundred feet per second." Confused looks appeared on almost everyone's face. "How?" asked Arald. "Every heard of saltpeter?" asked James dumping some gunpowder into his palm. "Isn't that what some country in the east uses in fireworks." said Halt. "Yes, but if contained in small brass shell and ignited it explodes pushing the bullet out at incredible speeds." A little understanding came into their expressions. "How does it ignite if it is sealed?" asked Rodney. "See this little sliver looking disk on the bottom?" showing them the bottom of the round "A little pin strikes it and just beyond that is a special powder called priming powder. When struck with a strong force it ignites starting the chain reaction." They all nodded in understanding.

"I am not going to go into the exact details of how the guns works. But that is the principle of the weapon." "Can we see it in action?" asked Will. James grinned "Hell yeah." James slid a magazine into the receiver and pulled back the charging handle. "I'll shoot one shot at each target at the fifty yard mark." CRACK!

The groups hands flew to their ears at the sound. "What was that?" shouted Arald. James chuckled as he answered "Oh, I forgot that all guns make loud noises." They all glared at him but kept their hands covering their ears. CRACK! The helmet spun off the post. CRACK! The shield spun on the post. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK! The armor vibrated a little as the bullets struck it. James cleared the chamber and set the rifle down. He motioned them to take their hands from their ears and they did but slowly. "That... was terrifying. How do you get used to that?" said Arald. James's eyes met Arald's and what the Baron saw terrified him. He saw a man who had seen blood, gore, and the terrible things that go along with war. This young man had probably seen more than Sir Rodney and himself. "You don't. In my dreams I still hear gunfire, the screams of the wounded. And the blood and the bodies, time only makes war worse." The group was silent at his words. "Well wanna go see the results?" asked James in a upbeat tone.


	3. Demons

James picked up the helmet that flew off the post when he shot it. He inspected it and showed the group.

"It entered here," said James as he pointed at the quarter size hole in the helmet. He turned it around and said "And this is the exit hole." This bullet hole was the size of a half dollar. "This is one dead knight."

The group was silent, one little piece of metal could pierce through both sides of a helmet.

"Why is the second hold bigger?" asked Will.

"Because when the bullet hits and passes through the first part of the helmet it loses its shape. It becomes deformed and wider so when it hits the back it creates a bigger hole."

They all nodded in understanding. He moved over and inspected the shield. He showed them it saying "The shield stopped it, but barely. Its thickness is what saved it."

"Finally!" said the Baron "I thought nothing would stop this weapon."

James looked at him and said "I wouldn't want to be the one holding the shield."They all inspected the armor seeing how easy it was for James's rifle to shoot through it. By that time it was almost dark.

"Where will James sleep?" asked Will.

"I was thinking the guest bedroom in your cabin Will." said Halt.

After Will got married to Alyss they had the cabin remolded. All rooms were enlarged and they added a room where either Will or Alyss could work. Will met his old mentor's gaze and knew why he wanted him there. Halt's expression said "Make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Will nodded to Halt and said.

"Sure, if that's fine with James."

"If it's better than the ground I will take it."

"If you sleep in the castle Halt's snoring will wake you up." said Will with a straight face. The group busted out in laughter.

"I do not!" said Halt over the laughter.

"Grab your things James, let's hope there is still a castle by morning." said Will still chuckling.

Smiles broke out on everyone's face except Halt's. James gathered up his weapons and ammo and followed Will. After they were out of earshot of the group James asked Will.

"Does Halt ever smile?"

Will grinned back and answered. "No he doesn't"

They entered the clearing to be greeted with the smell of cooking food. James then realized how hungry he was. The last time he had a meal was a MRE right before the attack back on earth. But that was a day ago maybe two. They both entered the cabin where Alyss was cooking dinner.

"Hello my love..." Alyss paused as she saw James. "You must be the man we found in the forest."

"Yes ma'am, thank you for helping me. I don't know what I would have done." said James bowing his head in greeting.

"It was nothing. Are you hungry because dinner is ready." said Alyss producing three bowels.

James nodded saying "Yes ma'am very."

"Well good I hope you like rabbit stew, though it probably won't be as good as Will's." said Alyss filling two bowls the rim and one about seventy-five percent full. They all sat in silence and ate the meal.

Once James had finished he said "Where would you like me to put my bowel?"

Alyss waved him away saying "We will take care of it do not worry." She then pointed towards a bedroom and said "That's where you will sleep."

Again James nodded in thanks saying "Thank you, I am going to retire now. I have had a long couple of days without much sleep."

Alyss and Will nodded drinking cups of coffee.

James entered the small room and took it all in. Small but better than some foxhole in Afghanistan thought James. There was a small bed and dresser in the room. And in the corner was a small closet. Once James finished inspecting the room he unclipped his helmet and set it on the small dresser. He pulled of his heavy body armor and put it at the foot of his bed. He sat on the bed and started unlacing his boots. He decided to keep his ACU on and fell onto the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Gunfire was everywhere. James was back in Afghanistan in one of the man Forward Operating Bases or FOBs. They were under attack by insurgents in the dead of night

"Captain! Captain!" shouted a second lieutenant to James.

"Lieutenant! Give me a sitrep!" said James back.

"Sir, we are under attack by insurgents and Pakistani troops!"

"Fuck! How many?"

"We estimate about two-hundred!" answered the Lieutenant.

"Have you raised any of the FOBs or Main bases?" asked James.

"No sir! They are blocking our comms!"

James cursed under his breath again. "Send out five men with a radio to try and get out range of the jammer and call for air support or reinforcements ."

The Lieutenant nodded and ran away to get five men and a radio. But then a new sound filled the night. Not many at first knew what it was. It sounded like something being slid down a tube.

"Mortars! Get to cover!" shouted James.

BOOM! The mess hall exploded leaving nothing more than smoking foundation. Mortar shells fell from the night sky killing and maiming any that were close enough to there deadly blast. The mortars fired for twenty minutes as enemy ground troops attack the Americans. But then all stopped and the infantry withdrew. The Americans cheered but James knew something was wrong. Then James's worst fear came to being. The missile attack alarm sounded filling the night with its dreadful song.

"Gas masks on! Gas masks on!" shouted James as he pulled his own over his face.

The SCUD missile exploded and the chemical weapons it carried filled the air. Many men died screaming in pain as the toxic gas killed them. Those that had their gas masks on fell back to the bunker in the FOB.

James moved through the blood and gore to get the bunker. A man grabbed his leg and pleaded with him saying

"Please help me. Please." choking on the gas.

James looked at the man but he knew he couldn't help him. He looked at him and said.

"I am so sorry this happened to you ranger. But I can't help you, I'll see you in heaven." James shook the man's grip free and continued walking. The man pleaded but then James nightmare morphed.

He was now in Somalia flying over Mogadishu the capitol city in a Black Hawk helicopter.

"Men! We are here to capture or kill a high ranking Al-Qaida member." said James to his squad. "This city messed with Rangers before and they saw the consequences." added James referring to Black Hawk Down. "Everyone understand?"

The squad nodded their heads.

"One Minute!" shouted the pilot.

"You heard the man get ready to rock and roll!" said James as he prepped his gear.

The helicopter hovered over the position where the men would rope down to the street.

"Ropes away!" shouted James and pushed one of the four ropes out.

"RPG!" shouted one of the men.

BOOM! The helicopter shook from the explosion. Two men were thrown from the helicopter and plummeted to their deaths. The helicopter began to spin.

"Overlord this is Echo 2-6 we are hit! We are hit and are going down!" shouted the pilot into his radio.

"Mayday! Mayday we are going down!" shouted the other pilot.

Then James awoke in a cold sweat. He sat up straight in his bed and then realized where he was. He ran his fingers through his hair letting out a big breath.

"Those are in the past James, they're just memories." said James to himself.

The window in the room let in the gray fringes of predawn light. James got out of bed and put on his boots.

"Might as well do some exercise." said James again to himself.

He walked into the living room to find Will already awake reading through what looked to be reports.

"You were muttering in your sleep" said Will still looking at the papers.

"I had a bad dream that's all." replied James.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Will.

"I am going to do some morning exercise, wanna join me?"

Will thought about it for a moment and replied with "Sure why not." and stood up and followed James out of the cabin.

**Hey guys! This chapter was to show you James's inner demons and what he deals with. Please Review!**


	4. New Allies

**Hey guys I just wanted to thank all of my Reviewers! And I would like to thank Guest's father for serving in the Military! Big salute to him and all that are currently serving. Without them I couldn't be on my computer writing Fan fiction! And I forgot in the last chapter I used a couple military terms and forgot to explain them. Sorry! F.O.B or Forward Operating Base and Sitrep is a Situation Report. Sorry again! And I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or its characters. Just James and Nobles. Do I really have to put this anymore? **

Will had left his cloak inside as he followed James to do exercise.

"So I do exercise in sync with my fellow soldiers. You don't have to but it's really easy if we do."

Will nodded saying "That's fine with me."

James smiled at him "Good, we will start out with pushups. You know what pushups are yes?"

"Yeah I know what they are."

"Good, here is a good position." said James indicating a spot in the middle of the clearing.

Both men got into position side by side and James started the call.

"Down...up, one." said James in a voice that was not loud but carried. This repeated as they climbed the numbers.

Will's arms ached at they got into the eighties but he pushed past the pain.

"Down...up, one-hundred. On your feet Will." said James getting up himself. "Feel the burn?" asked James.

"Oh I definitely feet it." said Will laughing.

"Sit up time." said James "Same way of counting as last time" added James as he got into position

They did one hundred sit ups. I'm fit but James must be in impeccable shape! Thought Will who felt the burn in both exercises.

"I am getting a bit hot." said James as he pulled off his ACU top and the shirt underneath to reveal his bare skin. James wasn't a bodybuilder by any means but he was well muscled. Solid chest and abs with solid arms and back muscles. His camouflage really hides his build thought Will.

"Do you know any good places to run?" asked James

Will grinned "Of course I do. Just follow me." said Will starting out in a jog.

James easily kept up with Will even pushing Will to go faster. Will learned from Halt to study everything about a person and a place. Their personality, physical fitness, anything noteworthy Will filed away in his brain for later.

Will noticed James was almost singing to himself and deiced to ask him about it "Are you singing?"

James chuckled then answered "In a way I suppose, whenever a group of soldiers run we sing a cadence. One man sings a part then the rest repeat."

"Interesting, can you sing one?" asked Will.

James chuckled again "If you want. I sing it the whole way through."

**C-130 rolling down the strip!**

**Sixty-four rangers gunna take a little trip!**

**Mission top secret, destination unknown!**

**I don't even know if I'm comin home!**

**Stand up hook up shuffle to the door!**

**Jump right out and count to four!**

**And if my main don't open wide!**

**I got a reserve by my side!**

**And if that one shout fail me too!**

**Look out ground I'm commin through!**

**And if I die in the old drop zone!**

**Box me up and ship me home!**

**Pin my metals upon my chest!**

**Tell my gal I did my best!**

**(Really quick I know there are grammatical errors in the cadence. They are suppose to be there. That is how it's sung.)**

James was silent after he was finished. The cadence brought up painful memories of friends that had sung it with him that are now dead.

"Interesting. Kind of somber though." said Will.

"We live a dangerous life there is no hiding that. Why act like we don't?" answered James.

"True very true. We have a Ranger Corps here too." said Will

"Really? What are your duties as a Ranger here?" asked James

"I'll tell you as long as you tell me what your Rangers do." said Will

James shrugged "Deal."

"We are an intelligence force, we act as forward scouts and guides for our armies. In times of peace we watch over fiefs and make sure the Barons are doing their jobs. We also make sure the Kings law is being followed." said Will remembering when Halt told him what Rangers did all those years ago.

James was deep in thought. Law enforcers, forward observers, and spies. This was a strange force indeed.

"So what about you? What does your Rangers do?" asked Will.

James paused before answering. Back on Earth he could answer this question easily, but here is harder. With no grasp on technology it would a little harder.

"We are the premiere strike force of the U.S. Army. We are more trained then the common foot soldier and hit targets that common infantry may mess up or sustain high casualties taking. We move in fast take or capture our target then get out." explained James.

Will took in every detail. So he is a combination of a "base and whacker" as Halt would say and planner. Interesting.

They arrived back at the clearing and found Horace waiting for them. Will called out his greetings to him and went over to meet him. James went and put on his undershirt and ACU back on.

Horace studied this new man. He was tall, taller than Horace.

**Average for our time. Humans have gotten taller as time progressed so I will reflect that here.**

He had very short brown hair and strong green eyes. Well muscled also, but when he looked into those eyes he saw a burning fire fueled by pain and loss but a note of humor that was suppressed by the pain and hate.

"Who is that Will?" asked Horace as James walked over to them.

"I'll explain later, but he seems trustworthy." answered Will.

"Hello I am James." said James to Horace as he stuck out his hand.

"Hello James, I am Horace." shaking James's hand firmly.

"What is it you came to talk about?" asked Will.

Horace's face became very serious "All I know is scattered details but Araluen is under attack."

Will face became puzzled and a million questions were bursting in his mind but he knew to hold them back.

"And the King called all his top Barons to a council of war. Halt already left and the King wants you to come along." said Horace.

"What will we do about James?" asked Will.

"Halt said to bring him along, he will greet the King." replied Horace.

"I am not going anywhere without Nobles, I need her." said James

**I decided to changed Nobles to a women because in 2015 women will be allowed to try out for Ranger school. I don't really know why but I thought it was a good idea.**

Will looked at Horace and shrugged. "Sure let's get her."

Nobles was still recovering when they came into the infirmary. When she saw the Captain enter she came to attention and gave him a crisp salute.

"Sir! Sergeant Anna Nobles reporting for duty sir!"

James returned the salute then said "At ease Sergeant, how do you feel?"

She felt her side and replied "Better, but I still don't feel one-hundred percent."

"That's good." said James "I bet you are wondering where the hell are we?" added James

Anna nodded "I have asked the doctors but they won't answer me."

"I thought so, we have to leave here I will explain everything to you on the road." said James.

Anna nodded again saying "Sure Captain, where are we going?"

"I am not exactly sure." answered James chuckling.

Before they left for Castle Araluen James searched the field he and Anna arrived here in. He found his assault back pack. In it he found MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) more ammo, grenades, maps, and to James's delight cigars. The four of them then set out at a hard pace for Castle Araluen. Will was able to get two horses for James and Anna. By nightfall they were about halfway there but they needed to make camp. Will was able to get an extra tent from Redmont so everyone could sleep in a tent. After they set up camp and had a fire going they all sat around it drinking the unofficial Ranger beverage, coffee.

"So Anna do you wanna hear how we might have gotten here?" asked James

Anna nodded. James took the next twenty minutes explaining it to Horace and Anna.

"It's confusing I know and that's only what I think happened. I'm not even one-hundred percent sure myself."

James then leaned back and lit one of his cigars.

"Sir I thought that was contraband." said Anna with a smile.

James toked on his cigar before he answered "Frankly Anna I didn't give a damn when I got them and I sure as hell don't give one now." leaning back enjoying it.

"What is in that?" asked Horace.

"A plant called tobacco." answered James.

"So I have a watch schedule for the night. It will go me, Horace, James, and then Anna." said Will before Horace could ask any other questions.

"Two hour shifts each." added Will.

James put out his cigar and crawled into one of the tents. Horace and Anna quickly followed his actions and climbed into their own tents. The night was uneventful for Will and Horace's watches. Horace gently shook James awake and told him it was his watch. James put on his helmet and grabbed his M4 and went to a spot away from camp and waited. He still had his wrist watch from Earth so he didn't have to judge time.

He sat with his back to a tree with his M4 in his lap. The dreams from the previous night played in his head over and over again. Back home they would diagnose with PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. James was only twenty-five and he had seen so much death. Two hours passed but he decided he would take Anna's watch. He couldn't sleep anyway. And she needed the rest. Early streaks of dawn filled the sky when he woke the camp.

"You didn't wake me for my watch." said Anna with a frown on her face.

James shrugged and answered "You need rest, you are still recovering."

Her frowned deepened further "I am not some delicate female you know." said Anna with a little bit of steel in her voice.

Will and Horace watched the scene to see how James would handle it. And more to judge if he was trustworthy or not.

"No you are not, you proved that when you joined the Rangers." said James

"So th..." said Anna but James interrupted her saying.

"But you receive a gunshot wound and that is what I care about Anna. You know me I don't give a shit about your gender. You are a soldier that's what I care about."

Anna hung her head, she knew he was right.

Will and Horace glanced at each other and nodded. James handled that extremely well.

They all ate a quick field breakfast and packed up camp amd rode hard again to make Castle Araluen. By mid evening the grand castle came into view. James and Anna both gasped when they saw it.

Will chuckled and said "Have you never seen a castle before?"

James looked at him and said "I have but they are all either destroyed or abandoned."

The group looked at the view for a few more seconds before they set out again. The four soldiers at the main gate saw the riders approaching and readied their weapons.

Two stepped into the middle of the roadway and shouted "Halt!"

The group obeyed. Horace shouted out "I am Sir Horace Knight of the Oak leaf."

The two sentries knew instantly who he was. Sir Horace was legendary and they stepped aside and said "Sorry for the delay Sir Horace. You may proceed."

The group crossed the drawbridge and entered the cobble courtyard inside. Three men at arms greeted them.

"Hello Ranger, we are instructed to take care of your horses. The King needs you men in the war room immediately."

Will nodded to the man and motioned for all of them to dismount the horses they all rode. They dismounted and Horace led them through the castle to the war room. On the way they saw servants rushing about and armored men at arms and knights also. They reached the door and Horace knocked once firmly on the door.

A voice from inside said "Come in."

Horace opened the door and went in followed by James and Anna with Will taking up the rear. James scanned the room. There was a circular table in the middle of the room with pieces representing allied and enemy soldiers. Halt was standing beside another man similarly dressed and armed. There were many men dressed in armor. At the head of the table was a man that was clearly the leader. He was in his forties and well built. He had sandy blonde hair and strong features.

"Will, Horace." said Duncan at the head of the table.

Will and Horace stepped off to the side so James and Anna stood opposite of the King.

"I assume these are the man and woman you told me about." said Duncan to Halt.

Halt nodded.

"What are your names?" asked Duncan.

James stepped forward and said "I am Captain James Roderick of the United States Army 75th Ranger Battalion."

Anna stepped beside him and said "I am Sergeant Anna Nobles 75th Ranger Battalion."

The room was silent for many moments.

"Why are you here?" asked Duncan

James thought for a moment "We did not come here on purpose. We were fighting our own conflict on my world when Anna and I were transported here."

The room again was met with silence.

"Halt here has told me what you told him." said Duncan gesturing to Halt. "He has told me about your weapons and how you offered assistance to us."

"Maybe, I would have to decide if I wanted to aid you. What is your name first?" answered James.

"My name is King Duncan. I and ruler of the Kingdom of Araluen."

"Greetings King Duncan. I see you are in the middle of war, one that started very recently. Is that why you want my help so badly?" asked James.

"How do you know this?" asked Duncan with a stone face.

"Because we are in "The war room" in your castle, gathered around a map with units on it." said James pointing to the table. "Your knight over there told Will that the army is gathering. Must I go on?"

Anna looked at James with a look of awe on her face. While he was making friends and taking in all kinds of details she was shot and being an absolute burden.

"You are very observant." said Duncan "What is your military background?"

"I have been to the United States War collage, I have the Congressional Medal of Honor, and I have helped plan and carry out multiple military operations." answered James.

Duncan was silent for many moments "How many men would you be in command of?"

"About one-hundred and twenty." answered James

"Can you please give us a moment." said Duncan motioning to the door.

"Of course." said James

They left the room and closed the heavy door.

"James I never knew you received the medal of honor!" said Anna

James opened a pocket in his ACU and pulled out the medal. "I always have this on me at all times to remind myself of that day."

"Are you really going to help them?" asked Anna

James thought for a moment "Maybe, they seem like nice people. I'll help them until they do something that I don't like." said James.

The door opened and a Knight said "You can come back in now."

They both entered and stood back opposite of the King.

"We ask for your help in these military matters." said Duncan to James.

"I will help you." said James as the room breathed a sigh of relief. "Who is your enemy?" asked James.

**Sorry guys this chapter was a bit of fluff but this needed to get out of the way. More to come! Thanks for reading and please review!**


	5. Flashbacks

**Hey guys! I promise from here it will start to pick up now that all that dumb plot stuff is out of the way. Again I do not own the Ranger's Apprentice series or any of its characters. I only own James and Anna and all the other characters I create.**

Duncan shifted from foot to foot before saying "Well... we sort of have three enemies."

James looked at him and asked "A little hated are you? Can I get a map of this part of the world?"

The man beside Halt left the table for a few moments and came back with a roll of paper. He rolled out the paper to reveal something shocking to James.

"We are here." said Crowley pointing to Araluen on the map. "And our enemies are here... here... and here." he pointed to three countries named Picta, Celtica, and Hibernia. But this entire map looked like Europe! Thought James. The country named Skandia looked like Scandinavia, Gallica looked like France.

James opened his assault pack and dug out his map of Europe and laid it on the table. "Look familiar?" asked James to the assembled knights. They all had dumbfounded looks on their faces. Except for Halt, he never had fun thought James.

"H-How did you get this map? You have never been here before I thought?" asked Duncan clearly confused by the map.

"I think our worlds are very similar just different in some other ways. Are your Skandians pirates and raiders?" asked James

The room was silent until Will in the back decided to answer "Yes, big horned helmets and huge axes with longs sleek ships."

"We call them Vikings in my world. But we can talk about this later. Your enemies, what attacks have they made?" asked James

"They have taken Castle Macindaw and Castle Norgate is under siege." answered the green cloaked man beside Halt.

"I'm sorry I do not know your name." said James to the man sticking out his hand.

"My name is Crowley." answered the man shaking the man's hand.

"Now I do not know anything about these places. Can someone explain?" asked James.

"Castle Norgate is the fief the is on the northern Picta border. They guard it and keep it safe, but there are a few passes to get through the mountains that make our northern border. So Macindaw is a smaller more fortified castle to act as another line of protection." answered Will from the back.

James looked over the map "What about the other two countries?" asked James

"Celtica is here." said Crowley pointing to the southern part of the isle. "They do not have much land but they are a hardy people and do heavy mining operations in their country. They have been harassing our border making us divert men down to the south."

James was in deep thought. "This Pictish force, how big is it?"

"We have rough estimates but we think they have about 25,000 men." answered Halt.

James looked at Duncan and asked "How men can your army muster?"

"Maybe 18,000." answered Duncan very grimly.

The whole room was quiet. They all knew this situation was grim. But then a knock came at the door startling everyone back into reality.

A knight opened the door and the Princess entered the room.

"Hello father." said Cassandra coolly as she entered the room.

"Cass!? What are you doing here?" demanded Duncan startled.

"I have come to see the war preparations and planning." answered Cassandra very calmly.

"No are not. You will leave immediately. The war room is no place for women!" said Duncan as he attempted to shoo her out of the door.

"Why not?! I am no precious princess father!" spat back Cassandra her anger clear in her voice.

"What you are doesn't matter out!" shouted Duncan.

"Sir I would advise to let her stay." said Baron Arald very calmly.

"I do not remember asking you to speak Arald." said Duncan turning to the Baron.

"Duncan this isn't her first time being near the planning of war." said Halt "Remember, she played a vital role in the Battle of Nihon-Ja." said Halt knowing were this argument was going.

"B-But..." said the Duncan knowing he was going to lose like every time before.

"In my world woman are in the military." said James gesturing to Anna. "Anna has been beside me in half of my engagements. Woman bring different ways of engagement to the battlefield." said James supporting Cassandra.

Duncan sagged his shoulders he looked defeated. "Fine, stay if you wish."

Cassandra smiled at James for helping her.

"Now how many men can your army field?" asked James

"At the most 15,000. " answered Crowley.

"What is your current strategy?" asked James looking around the room and he leaned into the table.

Duncan looked around the room to his Knights and Rangers "We are currently gathering the army, we have no real plans right now."

James nodded looking at the map on the table. "I can propose you a strategy if you wish, I will need a day or two to work out all the kinks."

Duncan nodded in agreement "Don't take too long."

They room discussed the various parts of planning a war logistics, recruitment, the treasury. They planned well into the night when most castle folk were in bed. Duncan dismissed all the knights and barons so only himself Will, Halt, Horace, Cassandra, James, and Anna were left.

"How about we have some coffee then head to bed?" asked Duncan knowing the Araluen Rangers were addicted to the stuff.

"Wait you guys have coffee?" asked James almost kid like with glee.

Anna rolled her eyes "You found his drug."

James gave Anna a very hard look "I haven't had coffee for about a week now when the base ran out."

Horace laughed "It seems all Rangers love coffee."

Servants came in giving the Rangers, Horace, and James a cup of hot coffee.

"I can deal with a girl being a Ranger. But one that doesn't drink coffee. Too much for me." said Halt shaking his head.

The group laughed and sat drinking in their hot refreshing beverage.

"So what is the Medal of Honor?" asked Horace to James.

"It is the highest medal given in my country. It is awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. Most men die to earn their Medals of Honor. Only 3,268 medals have been given out in 153 years it has existed." answered James.

"How did you earn yours?" asked Will.

James took a deep breath in and released it slowly. "It was about five or six years ago."

**Flash Back time! This may sound familiar ;)**

The blades of the helicopter whooshed through the hot Somalian air. James looked around to his squad knowing that this operation would go smoothly. He was with the best of his Rangers.

"Men! We are here to capture or kill a high ranking Al-Qaida member." said James to his squad. "This city messed with Rangers before and they saw the consequences." added James referring to Black Hawk Down. "Everyone understand?"

They all nodded their heads. They knew the OP but he learned always to make sure.

"One minute!" shouted the pilot.

James nodded "You heard the pilot, get ready to rock and roll!" as he slid a mag into the receiver and clicked it home.

The helicopter hovered and the pilot shouted "Go! This is it!"

The four Rangers pushed the ropes from the Helicopter and prepped to fast rope.

"RPG! RPG!" shouted one of the men.

The rocket streaked from their right side smashing into the helicopter. BOOM! The helicopter jerked violently to the left throwing two men from the helicopter. James heard their shouts as they fell to their deaths. Warning sirens blared from the cockpit as the helicopter began to spin.

"Overlord this is Echo 2-6 we are going down a repeat we are going down!" shouted one pilot.

"Mayday! Mayday! To any unit that can hear this we are going down! We are going down!" shouted the other pilot.

The spinning of the helicopter became faster as they approach the ground. Black smoked billowed from the destroyed engine.

"Brace for impact!" shouted the pilot before the crash happened.

James blacked out for maybe five minutes. He awoke to chanting of a crowd. All Rangers learned what happened during Black Hawk Down. James realized with fear that they were reliving it.

James struggled to a crouch and looked at his surroundings. The helicopter was sitting right side up with a slight tilt. Upon inspection both pilots were dead, shrapnel and glass to the body. There were eight Rangers in the helicopter counting James when they left. James awoke five of them. The fourth was laying on his side towards the tail of the helicopter. James put his hands on the man's front to turn him over. When his hands became wet and sticky. When he turned the soldier over he saw his hands were covered in blood. A piece of helicopter blade hit the Ranger in the chest were his heart is.

"At least it was quick." said James to himself. "Rest in Peace brother, see you on the other side." said James as he rose back to a crouch. The others were beginning to rise from the deck of the helicopter.

"Sir what happened?" asked Specialist Warren.

"We were hit by an militia RPG. Both pilots and Wells are dead. Bruckner and Perron fell out of the Black Hawk and I don't know if they lived or not. Perron was our radio operator so that's double the reason to get them." told James to the remaining Rangers.

James noticed the mob starting to form in the street coming towards them.

"Ok Rangers, we take all the bodies with us you remember what these people did last time to our Rangers."

**Pause Flash Back**

"What did they do last time?" asked Horace.

James met eyes with Horace. "They took our dead and wounded dismembered them and paraded the pieces around." said James with a hint of rage in his voice.

The group was silent.

"Were you there during that last time?" asked Will.

"No, I was four when the first time happened. This was twenty-one years later." answered James

**Flash Back Cont.**

"Coleman and Warren, you get the pilots out of their seats we are taking them too. Jaeger and Farley on me, we are getting Bruckner and Perron."

Coleman and Warren moved to the front of the Blackhawk and started to undo the straps that held the two bloody pilots in place. James, Jaeger, and Farley moved out of the helicopter and searched for their fellow Rangers.

The Black Hawk crashed in a smaller square in the city. Rundown market stalls occupied half of the square. People ran knowing what would come next.

"Sir Bruckner and Perron 9'oclock." said Jaeger.

James looked to his left and saw his Rangers about thirty five to forty feet away. "Fan out and move forward, Jaeger and Farley grab the bodies I'll cover you."

"Sir movement at the edge of the square." said Farley.

"Tracking, keep moving." answered James.

They moved up to the bodies very quickly.

"Check to see if either are alive." said James.

Both Rangers went to a body and shook them.

"Perron is dead sir." called Farley.

"Ger ready to move him." called James back.

"Sir Bruckner is alive." said Jaeger as a groan of pain came from Bruckner.

"Alright let's move them back to the Blackhawk." said James

Farley lifted Perron over his shoulder and started to carry him back. Jaeger had to drag him because he did not want to further injure Bruckner. When they were about halfway back three men with AK-47's entered the square.

**Pause Flashback**

"What is an AK-47?" asked Will interrupting James

"It is like my rifle but looks different." said James "Like how Recurve and Long bows are different but also still both bows."

Will nodded in understanding.

"What is a Black Hawk?" asked Horace.

James sat and tried to think of how he could explain a helicopter. "I do not want to explain it now just understand it is a vehicle and that is what we call them."

Anna just sat in silence the entire time. She always had liked the Captain I mean who wouldn't he was strong, handsome, treated all ladies as a gentle man. Well unless when he was a drill sergeant. Thought Anna giggling to herself. That James was scary.

From this point on James dodged any technology that would be difficult to explain.

**Cont. Flashback**

"Contacts 12 o'clock!" said James dropping into a crouch.

"I'll take care of them. Keep moving!" said James. He sucked in a breath and brought his sights on the first man approaching them. He very slowly released his breath CRACK! James squeezed the trigger and sent his first round downrange. The man staggered as the round tore through his torso. His robe quickly became soaked in blood as he fell onto his back. The other two men look confused as one of their own fell. CRACK! The second man's head semi exploded as James's round hit him. He dropped instantly also getting blood on his only surviving comrade. The last one left saw were James was and shot a burst from his AK-47. The bullets kicked up dirt and dust all around him.

James felt a sharp sting on his calf. "Fuck!" said James as he squeezed off two more rounds dropping the last gunman. He looked down to see blood welling from the semi deep graze wound on his calf.

"Fuck it." said James rising to his feet and slightly limping towards the Black Hawk.

"Sir what now?" asked Coleman. Both Pilots and the two dead Rangers were outside the Black Hawk.

"Treat Bruckner the best you can and give me the radio." said James

Warren was their field medic and started treating Bruckner the best he could. Farley handed the mic to James and powered on the radio.

"Overlord this is Echo 2-6 do you copy over?" said James into the mic. Nothing but static played through the speaker for a few moments.

"Overlord this is Echo 2-6 do you copy over?" said James again. Again nothing but static for a few moments.

"Echo 2-6 we can hear you but there is come interference over." came the operators voice through the speaker.

"Overlord we have crash landed inside the city of Mogadishu and need immediate extraction, we have four dead and one wounded over."

"Echo 2-6 we copy but cannot do, the city is too hot over."

"Say again Overlord?" asked James in disbelief.

"We copy Echo 2-6 but cannot do, the city is crawling with militia armed with RPGs." answered Overlord. "Try to get out of the city, we will try to get some A-10 or AC-130 support but until then try to make it out of the city, out."

"Copy Overlord out." said James handing the mic back to Farley.

The Rangers were silent, they all heard what overlord said.

"Ok get ready to move boys. We are going to go to that building and get our bearings." said James pointing to one of the taller buildings. Coleman and Farley you two are going to move the bodies. Warren you are going to be moving Bruckner, keep him stable. Jaeger you are pulling rear security and I'll take point."

Then the Rangers heard one of the most chilling sounds they will ever hear in their lives.

"Dhimashada si Americans! Dhimashada si Americans!" chanted the Somalian crowd entering the town square on the opposite side James and his men pulled the other Rangers from.

"Fuck! Grab the bodies we just have to move." said James"

**Pause Flashback**

"What were they saying?" asked Halt for a change.

"Death to Americans, Death to Americans." answered James. He was staring off into space remembering that chant all too well.

"So your Commanders left you for dead?" asked Horace who was horrified by the thought of it.

"Not directly no. To try to get out would have resulted in the deaths of many other men and equipment and we would have been still there most likely.

Horace nodded in understanding.

"Did this mob all have guns?" asked Will

James laughed and answered "No, if they all did I would NOT be here. Only some of them did but last time this happened it was called Black Hawk Down. Mobs swarmed the men in the crashed Black Hawks and mutilated their bodies."

**Cont. Flash back**

The men grab the bodies they were assigned to and started to move away from the Black Hawk.

"Jaeger only shoot at the mob if it gets too close and shoot anyone with a weapon." shouted James to the rear of their small column.

Jaeger nodded his head and kept scanning the square behind them.

The group moved into a street and walked down the left hand side. Their pace was a fast walk because of the amount of dead they had to carry.

Crack Crack! Came from the rear of the column.

"Two tangos down." said Jaeger.

A man ran out into the street about thirty feet in from of them.

"RPG! Get down!" shout James as he brought his rifle to his should preparing to shoot.

The RPG fired and the rocket streaked towards them it exploded on one of the building above them causing massive junks on debris to fall.

**CLIFFHANGER! I am so evil but sorry this took so long to update. I thank you all for being so patient! Sorry if this has any grammatical errors I didn't get the person who checks for me to check it. I wanted to get this to you guys ASAP. Leave in the Reviews if you want me to continue the story, I know that all of you are not going to want to read this so please tell me if you don't want to read it. And what I mean by story is James's tale about how he got his Medal of Honor not THE story. Please Review!**


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